deans24 I saw this cinematic wretchedness in a dollar theater with a friend in 1979 (back when the tickets actually sold for $1). This is the only film I have ever walked out on (with my friend, while the idiocy that is the "Laser Bra 2000" sketch was on screen). Evidently, my and my friend's reaction to the film was a common one. It is not that I found the film offensive (either as an 18-year-old or now), but rather that it is mind-numbingly stupid and patently unfunny, devoid even of the unintended humor that makes a Ed Wood film watchable. This is the real reason why NBC refused to air it, rather than a failure to comprehend Mr. Mike's "vision" (unless, of course, his vision was to drive the film's backers into bankruptcy).I remained surprised to this day that this film does not seem to have made any published "10 worst films of all time" list. It certainly makes mine. You have been warned.

lane jarsonbeck It is a real shame that nearly no one under 30 knows the "over the top" writing of Michael O'Donoghugh- magazine articles and SNL skits that were genius for the time...and so it is a true shame that anyone who may take the opportunity to research his work will no doubt take the easy way out and watch videos- thus leading them to MR MIKES MONDO VIDEO. This movie has clever elements that never fully connect to the funny bone. The viewer experiences such things as cat diving/swimming with the man who thinks he's found feline happiness by hurling these kittens into a pool which the camera follows in slow motion and montage sequence. Then we are taken to an island to where all past fads are retired (hula hops, pet rocks, rainbow dread wigs etc.) Then we enter the music world (punk was a new variety of music at the time of this film) where "D" rate bar performer Rootboy Slim performs "boogie till you puke" in his own lazy style of dirt and eclectic sleaze. Now the real beauty of all this is the back ground music. In many different styles with many different instruments the sound of TELSTAR plays and replays- for those who don't understand Telstar was the first American Satellite launched into space and the theme was created to celebrate mans genius and triumph. MR MIKES seems to have been meant as a signal of societal decay ridiculous wastes. Now one thing the theater offered that the video release does not was a live performance of Sid Vicious (ex sex pistol not the wrestler) singing MY WAY. His version is very different than Sinatras as one might imagine but frankly I feel it is very much worth the listen...it's good! That is the sad part- in the VHS release Paul Anka refuses the rights of his song and the viewer is forced to experience 3 1/2 minutes of silence with an explanation rolling across the image of the singing dead sex pistol. I would give the theater release a 5 or 6 the video is closer to a 4 and now that so much is passé I can see where many people would give it a 3 or 2.5. If you want to see a good O'Donoghugh script watch SCROOGED...it is a better tribute to the mans insight and talent.

DLewis "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video" was created under the auspices of NBC-TV as a proposed network special. NBC's motivation for doing so was largely supported by O'Donoghue's strength as a writer and performer for Saturday Night Live, then one of NBC's few genuine hit shows. When NBC censors saw the finished product, they were horrified; much as they had been when Richard Pryor's earlier comedy specials were first reviewed. But unlike the situation had been with Pryor, NBC rejected "Mr. Mike", which sent O'Donoghue packing from the network, Saturday Night Live and all. 'Twas a pity; after all, his unpredictable, twisted sense of humor had helped to make SNL distinctive, and his departure was the first indicator of the gradual decline of SNL into the mediocrity it eventually became. Somehow M O'D retained the rights to the finished product, and it was released as a theatrical film in 1980; the author was one of perhaps a half dozen souls who braved it in first release at my particular theater. Few films have been such a poor draw, and it was pulled from distribution very quickly. NBC's main objection to the show was the inclusion of a clip of ex-Sex Pistol and suspected murderer Sid Vicious singing Paul Anka's song "My Way" and firing a pistol at the camera. It's arguably the weakest segment in the film, but for some reason M O'D refused to part with it. When "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video" was issued on VHS in 1985 the audiotrack to this segment was expunged from the release, as Anka's publishing company refused to grant a license for the song. Ironically, the same segment, in a somewhat different visual form, appears in Julien Temple's Sex Pistols film "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle", and no such censorship is imposed in the video release. I am commenting as I am surprised by the low viewer rating for this title on the imdb. Some of the segments here are quite honestly among the funniest, darkest, most irreverent comedy ever committed to film. Fans of offbeat humor really shouldn't miss this one; much of it is still cutting edge two decades on, and certain segments are even now enough to reduce me to helpless hysterics, tears rolling down my cheeks with laughter. Mr. Mike, your "Mondo Video" is so funny, it hurts.

vermnboy The title of my summary pretty much says it all. The movie is hilarious, but there are less "belly" laughs than there are "Where the hell did that come from?" laughs. As National Lampoon fans know, Michael O'Donoghue was an "evil genius" of comedy. His philosophy was that there's no such thing as "too far", and that rings clearly in this film. The movie was banned from TV by the FCC, for obvious reasons. I highly recommend this movie to lovers of dark, surreal comedy, or the underground movement. Chances are that if you have a short attention span, or stay with the mainstream, it's not for you. Praise Jack Lord!